Ornamental covered container useful as a christmas tree ornament



March 12, 1957 ORNAME AS A. M. GOODWI NTAL. COVERED CONTA R USEFUL HRISTMAS TREE ORNAMENT iled Jan. 8, 1954 INVENTOR. fZZZaIz 7/5. Goodman BY 0" @M EM 5 955 United States Patent ORNAMEN'IAL COVERED CONTAINER USEFUL AS ACHRISIMAS ORNAMENT Allan M. Goodwin, 'Middleboro, Mass.

Application JanuaryrS, 1954, Serial No. 402,967

2 Claims. (Cl. 41-10) This invention pertains to covered receptacles, and more particularly to .a container whose primary purpose is to serve as an ornament, .for example to constitute a Christmas tree decoration, butwhich is so devised that it may be used as a receptacle .for small gifts, confections, or other objects.

Usually Christmas tree ornaments are made of -ex-, tremely thin blown glass or of plastic, and are unitary shells, very fragile, and have no other purpose than as ornaments. In accordance with the present invention, an ornament is provided which, externally, may have substantially the appearance of any of the conventional Christmas tree ornaments, but which at the same time may function as a container, and for this purpose comprises a plurality of separable parts.

For the intended purpose the container must obviously be very cheap to construct and capable of being given the desired ornamental surface appearance. The present invention has for one object the provision of an ornamental container comprising separable parts, but of very simple construction, easily and cheaplyv made, and whose parts are readily assembled, and having adequate means for keeping the parts in properly assembled relation and for suspending it from a Christmas tree or other support. Other and further objects and advantages of the invention will be understood from the following more detailed description and by reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein Fig. 1 is a side elevation of an ornamental container embodying the present invention, shown as a simple sphere having a smooth outer surface;

Fig. 2 is a vertical section through the center of the sphere of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the upper part or hemisphere of the container of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the lower half or hemisphere of the container of Fig. I viewed at right angles to Fig. 2, and

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary radial section through the upper part of the Wall of the lower hemisphere showing details of construction.

For convenience in illustration, the container has here been shown as of spherical contour and as having a smooth outer surface, but it is to be understood that the hollow container may be of any desired external shape, and that its outer surface may be of any desired type, either smooth and polished, or ornamented in any other desired way, either by pleasing color, pattern or surface finish. Furthermore, the container may be of any appropriate material useful for the purpose, for example of plastic, glass or other ceramic material, wood, paper, or metal, which may easily be worked to provide container parts such as here illustrated and described by way of example.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral 1 designates a container according to the present invention, as it appears when in readiness to be suspended from a Christ- 2,784,512 Patented Mar. 12, 1957 mas tree. This container, of spherical contour, comprises the upper lhemisphere or shell .2 and .the lower hemisphereor shell 3. Asillustrated in Fig. 2, these hemispheres or shells are hollow and have walls of substantially uniform thickness, .the thickness depending upon the type of material employed, .and also in accordance with the size of the container to be made. Thus for example, and merely'by way :of illustration but without limitation, if the container be made .of a .hard plastic such as a vinyl polymer, its wall thickness may be of the order of of an inch in thickness. If of metal, the wall thickness may be very substantially less than that. As .shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the container has a suspension loop 5 extending upwardly from the polar portion of the upper'hemispherel. Usuallythis suspen- :sion element will be of flexible .cord or 'wire, and should obviously be of suflicient strengtlrto support the weight of the container with its contents.

As illustrated infFigs. 4 and 5, the lower hemisphere 3lhas the upper edge .6 which is shown as horizontal and which constitutesa support .for therlower horizontal edge 7 (Fig. 3) of'the upper hemisphere '2 when the parts are assembled. In order to keep the parts in proper registry when thus assembled, it is preferred to provide the lower hemisphere 3 with an upwardly directed internal flange 8 which extends upwardly beyond the edge 6 and which fits snugly within the lower part of the upper hemisphere when the parts are assembled. While as here shown the flange 8 is continuous-that is to say, it extends all of the way around the lower hemisphere, it is contemplated that this continuous flange may be replaced by a plurality of spaced tongues or tabs, either integral with the parts, or fixed thereto, preferably symmetrically located about the circumference of the lower hemisphere and which perform the same function as the continuous flange 8, although requiring somewhat less material than the continuous flange.

As illustrated, the flange is provided at diametrically opposite points with a hole 9 or a group of such holes, each hole extending through the entire thickness of the flange and preferably being countersunk at its outer end. These holes provide a convenient means for attaching the lower ends of the respective legs 11 and 12 (Fig. 2) of the suspension element or cord, the lower ends of these legs of the cord being connected to the flange 8 by passing them through the holes 9 and providing them with knots, or otherwise securing them to the flange. These legs 11 and 12 then extend upwardly in convergent relation and pass outwardly through a polar opening 10 (Fig. 3) in the upper hemisphere 2 to form the suspending loop 5. As already suggested, the material of this loop may be a flexible cord or a thin wire or equivalent, and since the lower ends of this suspension cord are secured to the lower hemisphere 3, the suspension cord thus carries the entire weight of the device when the parts are assembled, the upper hemisphere 2 merely resting on the edge 6 of the lower hemisphere and being freely removable from the lower hemisphere by lifting it therefrom, the loop 5 of the cord, being released from restraint, then escaping downwardly through the aperture 10. In assembling the parts and after placing such objects as may be desired within the lower hemisphere 3, the loop 5 of the cord is passed up through the aperture 10, using a hook such for example as a crochet hook or the like if desired to facilitate: the operation, and the upper hemisphere 2 is assembled. with the lower hemisphere. The container may now be picked up by means of the loop 5 and suspended from any desired support-the parts remaining in this assembled condition so long as the weight of the parts is supported by the loop 5.

As previously noted, the invention is not limited to a device of spherical form, and it will be understood that when the external configuration of the container is to be of other shape, the upper. and lower shells will be of corresponding shape, although in any event they will be so designed that the upper shell will rest freely on the lower shell and the weight of the assembled parts will be carried by a suspension element connected to the lower shell and passing freely up through the upper shell without connection to the latter.

While one desirable embodiment of the invention has herein been shown and described by way of example, it is to be understood that the invention is broadly inclusive of any and all modifications falling within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A hollow Christmas tree ornament in the form of a container, comprising independent, upper and lower thin-walled shells, which, when assembled collectively 'define an interior chamber for the reception of small objects, the upper shell having'an aperture at its top, and a flexible suspension cord having its opposite ends connected to the lower shell of the container at the interior of the latter and at diametrically opposite points and whose mid-portion extends, in the form of a narrow loop, out through the aperture in the upper shell of the container, the lower shell of the container having supporting means on which the upper shell normally rests, the narrow loop portion of the suspension cord passing freely through the aperture in the upper shell so that the upper shell may be lifted from the lower shell.

2. A Christmas tree ornament according to claim 1, wherein the upper and lower shells are hemispheres, the lower edge of the upper hemisphere normally resting on the upper edge of the lower hemisphere, the lower hemisphere having an internal positioning flange projecting above its upper edge and shaped to fit snugly within the lower portion of the upper hemisphere, thereby to hold the hemispheres in registering relation.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

